Marshal Jozef Pilsudski was the leader of the Polish movement, he had been a victim of ‘Czar Justice’ and had little love for the Russians. He sought for a Pole Empire with borders similar to 1772. He also sought to sap Russian power by establishing a Federation of Ukraine, Belorussia and Lithuania, under Polish control.
Once the Whites started losing the Revolution in Russia, they seeked help from Poland. The price tag was Galicia for Pilsudski to help Ukrainians form an independent state. The combination of Ukrainian and Poles took Kiev in May 1920.
A counterattack by the Reds forced the Poles back into Poland. Lenin with the Revolution under control ordered an attack to capture Warsaw, in preparation for a possible invasion of Germany to help the Communist movement in that country.
Lenin places in command of the five soviet armies Marshal Tukhachevsky. The Russian invasion is broad with armies. The Polish leadership relies heavy on large conscription program and decides to concentrate their resources south of Warsaw. This removes Polish units away from the elite 1st Red Cavalry Army, who leaderships decides to stay put and will have no part in the most important battle between World Wars.
The Soviets place three armies west of Warsaw in hopes of flanking the Polish forces and the city. The Russian forces in a no lose situation for they are only miles from the German Border.
The Western Powers fearful of a Polish defeat, which would lead to a possible Allied invasion of Germany give the Polish leadership weapons if the Poles will recognize the Curzon Lines as the national eastern border and drop the dreams of a vast Polish Empire.
The Russians who numbered 180,000 were not prepared for the vast number of Poles who numbered 380,000 supported by tanks, armored cars and motorized infantry. Soviet leadership was handicap by mistrust between one another which isolate individual soviet armies.
The battles turned into a route with most of the Soviet destroyed or trapped between Polish forces and the German border where they were interned to German authorities. The Soviets would lose 100,000 men, 250 artillery pieces, 1000 machine guns, 10,000 vehicles and 66,000 POWs. Polish losses were 50,000.
Weeks later Polish Cavalry move on the 1st Red Cavalry Army in what would be the last great Cavalry Battle.
